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Q1 Could you introduce yourself? How did you start as a photographer?
Hello there, my name is Boogie, I was born and raised in Belgrade, Serbia, I currently live and work in Brooklyn, New York. I am a photographer, actually I'm a street photographer; Both my dad and my grandfather were photographers, but more on an amateur side, cameras were all around during my childhood, and that probably influenced my development.
In 1993 my country was in crisis because of the UN economic sanctions + the war raging all around, people were literally starving, selling whatever they could from their houses just to survive. I happen to have some money, so I started going to flea markets and buying vintage cameras, they kind of looked good on my shelf. Then one day my dad bought me a real camera, nothing special, it was an Olympus OM-40, but it was capable of taking pictures... I snapped a few shots, processed the roll under my dad's supervision, and printed my first photo using an old Russian enlarger; when I saw the face of my god-daughter Vesna forming in the developer tray, it was magic, I think at that moment it was decided that I was gonna be a photographer... of course, it took me a few years to start taking decent shots, I think that happened in 1996, when I started taking pictures of nazi skinheads and protests against Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic... |
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Q2 Could you tell us about your book, 'It's all good'? What is the concept behind it? What are you trying to express from this series?
The book came out a few months ago, for Powerhouse Books, it is a story, a document on drug addiction and gangs in and around New York's public housing projects. I spent almost 3 years going there and hanging out with people, getting to know the rules of the game, which was completely different than anything else I’ve experienced before. In my opinion, the main characteristic of the book is that it doesn't moralize, it doesn't preach, it just shows life as it really is, pretty fucked up and hopeless for some people...
Q3 How did you shoot all these people? Did you know them?
No, I didn't know anyone in the beginning. The neighborhood I live in, Williamsburg/Brooklyn, is pretty boring, there was nothing there for me to shoot. |
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Q6 Could you tell us about little bit about the new projects that you are working on or the plans in 2007?
I've been planning to go to Sao Paolo for a while, have a good connection there, would like to try to get into favelas and prisons there ... I might do that in 2007. But I usually don't plan projects, they come out of the blue, they just happen.
Q7 Seems like you prefer to use monochrome than color, why?
I have nothing against color photography, of course I do it from time to time when clients insist, but for my personal projects, I think monochrome is still the way to go. I think monochrome works great with the mood of my photos, very often with my mood too, and also, color can be too distracting, you can easily lose the point. Sometimes I think I even see in black and white... |
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Q8 What is your vision in the future?
I think the world is going to hell, but I'll continue chasing my dreams, there is nothing else I can do.
Q9 What photography means to you?
I live photography. I have to do it, or I would die.
Q10 Any plans for the exhibition in 2007? We would love to see you work in Japan.
I am preparing a Tokyo show in L'ECLAIREUR store/gallery for the end of April - beginning of May. Also, my friend and client SHELLAC is opening a new flagship store in Aoyama/Tokyo in April, one wall will probably be covered with my photos, so I might be there for the opening. By the way, SHELLAC designed and produced the leather slipcase for the limited edition of my book, it kicks ass...
Q11 Any message?
All the best in 2007! |
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Street photographer Boogie is originally from Belgrade, Serbia, he have been living in Brooklyn for nearly 10 years. Recently Boogie published the book, "It's All Good" from Powerhouse Books. This shocking documentary collection is about the reality of drug addiction and gangs in and around public housing projects in New York City. From young gangsters holding a gun in the hands to middle-age drug addict women shooting crack, it shows the lifestyle you could never imagine if you are not there. At first Boogie didn’t know any of these people in the book, but he spent 3 years walked around the projects to get know these people and entered in their communities. Just like 90's golden era Hip Hop video clips, "It's All good" express reality of the ghetto life without any gimmic.
Check out his exhibition at L'ECLAIREUR in Aoyama, Tokyo from the end of April to beginning of May. |
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So I took walks deeper and deeper into Brooklyn... one day I saw a group of homeless people in an abandoned parking lot, I approached them and asked to take pictures. They thought I was a cop, of course, white guy with the camera in a non-white neighborhood; so they all said NO, except Christina, a 50 or so year old woman, who got out of prison recently, was a crack addict etc etc (the details I learned later). She allowed me to take pictures, so we started hanging out, drinking beer, just talking whatever.
A week or so later she told me her friend is coming over, and the two of them were going to smoke crack, and I could take pictures if I wanted... it was almost like a dream come truth, one day you are reading COCAINE TRUE, COCAINE BLUE by Eugene Richards and wondering how the hell did he get the shots, the next day you are shooting same stuff... this is how it started, then I started hanging out with her friend, and she invited me to take pictures of her shooting up heroin in the bathroom. Slowly, step by step, I entered the drug world.
Then I got sick of it after a while, same stories over and over again, heavy to the bone, and decided to try walking around the public housing projects nearby, to try to take some pictures of gangs. Of course, I didn't have to look too long, gangsters found me, and believe it or not, somehow they liked me. Hey I have Serbian accent, I don't sound like anyone they hate, and I like guns - We started hanging out, and a few weeks later they invited me to take pictures of them with guns... |
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Q4 I read you are from Serbia and immigrated to the US in 1998, currently reside in Brooklyn NY. Why did you decide to live there?
I never really planned to leave Serbia, but one night in 1998 I was at home in Belgrade, drinking with some friends, and we all decided to apply for the green card lottery. Well I was the only one to win... so it was decided for me, I had to go.
Q5 What is it like to live in NY for the photographer? Do you get lots of inspirations from the city?
NYC is very tough, you either learn to swim with sharks or you drown... competition is fierce, there are a lot of photographers here, a lot of them are very talented, so it's a constant struggle. You have to hustle to survive. City is very intense, has a weird energy that can easily destroy you if you don't learn how to handle it. It is very cinematic and very inspirational... of course, after a while every city becomes too familiar, so you take a trip somewhere else to recharge your batteries... |
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